RT-N66U Firmware Upgrade - 1st Time

[wirezfree]

Hi,

I want to upgrade my RT-N66U firmware
My main reason is the inconsistent update to the Network Map Clients
They are getting stuck & not refreshing

Current firmware is:
3.0.0.4.374_979
Upgrade firmware to:
3.0.0.4_376_2524

I have seen in the manual the procedure to upgrade, it seems straightforward,
But I have been reading on the forum about Factory reset and also NVRAM resets etc.

Is it enough just to do firmware update, followed by a factory reset
or also do the NVRAM rest also.?

I plan to just have 1 PC connected, nothing else connected.

Any other tips.?
First time I've done a Firmware upgrade

Thanks..David

 

[Pierino]

Factory reset is an nvram reset.

 

[wouterv]

Upgrade from 3.0.0.4.374_979 to 3.0.0.4_376_2524 can be done without any further action.

1. Connect a PC by using a network cable to the router
2. Access the router user interface.
3. Go to Advanced Settings>Administration>Firmware Upgrade
4. Browse for the new firmware file and click Upload.

Return to factory defaults (reset NVRAM) is not required.

Your reason to upgrade will disappoint you, the Client status feature is still buggy, but it adds some features.
I strongly suggest to upgrade anyway to have some potential security vulnerabilities fixed.

 

[4Leaf]

Hi,

I want to upgrade my RT-N66U firmware
My main reason is the inconsistent update to the Network Map Clients
They are getting stuck & not refreshing

Current firmware is:
3.0.0.4.374_979
Upgrade firmware to:
3.0.0.4_376_2524

I have seen in the manual the procedure to upgrade, it seems straightforward,
But I have been reading on the forum about Factory reset and also NVRAM resets etc.

Is it enough just to do firmware update, followed by a factory reset
or also do the NVRAM rest also.?

I plan to just have 1 PC connected, nothing else connected.

Any other tips.?
First time I've done a Firmware upgrade

Thanks..David

Erasing the nvram might not always be required, but if you want to make sure your router is running top notch then I would clear the nvram right after updating the firmware by holding down the wps for 10-30 seconds while turning the router on. That would effectively erase your nvram.

I personally always erase my nvram every time I switch firmware builds just to keep my router settings cleaned out.

 

[wouterv]

Erasing the nvram might not always be required, but if you want to make sure your router is running top notch then I would clear the nvram right after updating the firmware by holding down the wps for 10-30 seconds while turning the router on. That would effectively erase your nvram.

I personally always erase my nvram every time I switch firmware builds just to keep my router settings cleaned out.

Back to factory defaults never hurt.
It also wipes out "forgotten settings", the advise is: keep you settings as simple as possible, only make the bare minimal required setting changes for your situation.
Another suggestion is to keep a simple text file where you write down the changes you make from the factory defaults. It makes the choice to revert to factory defaults easier, because you know what settings you have to make.

 

[4Leaf]

Back to factory defaults never hurt.
It also wipes out "forgotten settings", the advise is: keep you settings as simple as possible, only make the bare minimal required setting changes for your situation.
Another suggestion is to keep a simple text file where you write down the changes you make from the factory defaults. It makes the choice to revert to factory defaults easier, because you know what settings you have to make.

I keep all the mac addresses for all my devices I use with qos saved on my pc.
One reason why I don't mind erasing the nvram.

 

[wirezfree]

Thanks...

Thanks to all..

Noted:
> Still issues with Client list
> Factory reset is a "NVRAM" clear

Pity there is not a feature/utility to extract the changed settings in text format.
I will step through each screen again to remind me of what changes I made.

Thanks... David

 

[wouterv]

Thanks to all..

Noted:
> Still issues with Client list
> Factory reset is a "NVRAM" clear

Pity there is not a feature/utility to extract the changed settings in text format.
I will step through each screen again to remind me of what changes I made.

Thanks... David

The trick is that you only want to write down the settings you made others then the factory defaults.
Specially as 4Leaf said: MAC addresses, you can copy/paste these back from your text file to the fresh settings page.
You can list all settings, but that doesn't tell which are default or not.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Be advised using any of the new Asus or Merlin builds for the N66 there will be a reduction in signal output that is definitely noticeable from older builds. This was done on purpose by Asus to comply with new FCC rules.

 

[4Leaf]

Be advised using any of the new Asus or Merlin builds for the N66 there will be a reduction in signal output that is definitely noticeable from older builds. This was done on purpose by Asus to comply with new FCC rules.

You for sure know that they specifically dumbed down the throughput? I thought that was just a mess up by broadcom since they made the sdk 6 driver.

 

[RMerlin]

Be advised using any of the new Asus or Merlin builds for the N66 there will be a reduction in signal output that is definitely noticeable from older builds. This was done on purpose by Asus to comply with new FCC rules.

374_979 (from which he's upgrading) already has the newer SDK6 driver. The drop occurred between 276 and 3xx.

 

[wirezfree]

Be advised using any of the new Asus or Merlin builds for the N66 there will be a reduction in signal output that is definitely noticeable from older builds. This was done on purpose by Asus to comply with new FCC rules.

Whilst the FCC rules only apply to USA jurisdiction,
which is probably/possibly ASUS's largest market(?)
They may have decided to just apply the rules across the board to simplify things.?
Having said that, This will impact "all" suppliers, and not just ASUS.

Having not seen the FCC filing, I'm not sure if the limit is Power output or EIRP.
If the former, you can make that up with antenna gain, if the later not a lot you can do.

David

 

[Deleted member 22229]

374_979 (from which he's upgrading) already has the newer SDK6 driver. The drop occurred between 276 and 3xx.

If you read through your threads starting from 376.44 and up many many users of the N66 have reported a loss in signal coverage reverting back to 374.43 seems to bring it back to what it was but still not as good as SDK5.

 

[4Leaf]

If you read through your threads starting from 376.44 and up many many users of the N66 have reported a loss in signal coverage reverting back to 374.43 seems to bring it back to what it was but still not as good as SDK5.

Yes when I tried to switch from 374.43 to 376.44 my 5ghz band went from 4 to 2 bars and even started completely just not showing up at all from time to time. It would still only be 2 bars 20 feet in front of the router.

There is defiantly something different starting at the 376.44 builds in my opinion as far as the wireless driver is concerned.

After experiencing that I just went way back to 35_4-sdk5. It just seems like the router is designed to work better with this driver. I don't like the idea of changing wireless drivers.

 

[RMerlin]

If you read through your threads starting from 376.44 and up many many users of the N66 have reported a loss in signal coverage reverting back to 374.43 seems to bring it back to what it was but still not as good as SDK5.

Different things. I was doing some tweaks to my firmware, such as compiling with engineering mode enabled. That code was removed around 374.43, and that's probably the reason why people saw a range decrease specifically in my firmware.

In the case of the stock firmware, all firmwares starting with 3.0.0.4.354 up to 3.0.0.4.376_xxxx should have very similar range and performance.

 

[4Leaf]

Different things. I was doing some tweaks to my firmware, such as compiling with engineering mode enabled. That code was removed around 374.43, and that's probably the reason why people saw a range decrease specifically in my firmware.

In the case of the stock firmware, all firmwares starting with 3.0.0.4.354 up to 3.0.0.4.376_xxxx should have very similar range and performance.

All I know is that my wireless signal and range with 374.43 was just as good as it was with 42,41, and 40. Once I switched over to 376.44 or 376.45, i tried both. My 5ghz band dropped horribly in range and would constantly appear and re-appear with a super weak signal like 2 bars. It didn't matter if I was 15,20,30 feet away from the router.

As soon as I would switch back to 374.43 it would go back to normal. Eventually I just decided to just use the old 35_4-sdk5 build since the rt-n66u originally used that driver.

 

[jontalk]

Be advised using any of the new Asus or Merlin builds for the N66 there will be a reduction in signal output that is definitely noticeable from older builds. This was done on purpose by Asus to comply with new FCC rules.

As a noob who just RMA'd the refurb N66U that had Merlin 374.49 installed, are you saying that Asus has on purpose released firmware (Merlin or otherwise) that SLOWS DOWN speed? One of the several problems that I noticed right away was MUCH slower wired speed that my 7 year old Netgear WRN3500. So should I expect that a replacement will deliver the same performance? Thanks.

 

[Pierino]

Jon, I think there was something wrong with that router. I'll know once I get it back from asus.
As to the reduction, they are talking about it is mainly about wifi signal strength.
Netgear brought suit against asus over power output.
Asus has since released firmware with reduced power output. That is why some still use firmware that is really old.